Scarlet Treats
by Devin Trinidad
Summary: Fushimi and Anna share an ice cream. Along the way, the Blue Clansman finds that he respects the young Red King more than he should.


_People can be idiots. I wonder how they even manage to survive past infancy._

Bitter thoughts plagued Fushimi's mind as he waded through the throng of unhurried civilians, a look of disdain warding off swooning girls and friendly guys from speaking with him. His gait was unhurried, but he still kept a wary eye out for danger and disturbances. Like the rest of the people in the crowd, he wore normal clothing; there was no sign of the Scepter 4 uniform to be seen. After all, today was a day off for him.

The young man had worked hard to spend most of his day out in the city. However, he couldn't deny that he still felt the urge to quickly pound at the keyboard, to code a new program at his leisure. For some odd reason (not), he felt that Scepter 4 would collapse without him at one of their prissy desks. In fact, the young man had pondered the idea of staying at headquarters in case they required his expertise. Despite that, Fushimi knew that some of his colleagues also had the day off…and they were all planning to attend some party at a bar. As much as Fushimi would have loved to stick around and blatantly ignore everyone, he also knew that Hidaka or Domyoji would think of inviting him.

 _Those idiots._

He did not need that kind of hassle.

With nothing else in mind, the Scepter 4 officer just grabbed his PDA, his headphones, and left headquarters. The solitude of traveling through the streets of Shizume City calmed his nerves. However, his eyes remained wary, as if he was waiting for something to occur. Only the feeling of cold metal against his arms gave him relief and a sense of concealed power as he aimlessly walked through town.

And that's when he saw her.

She was fearlessly peering up at a slimy man. He was gripping the young girl's arm, a look of pain caressing and contorting her sweet face. It took a mere second for Fushimi to assess the situation and come up with a plan. Urgency and something soft inside of him ached for his feet to move faster. He wasn't angry. Oh no. He was flat out furious that this man had the nerve to touch a young girl like this!

Reflexively, Fushimi grasped the sleeves of his jacket; he could his trusty knives just ready to skin the man alive.

The young girl glanced above the shoulder of the leering man before uttering a single, "Saruhiko." Her bright red eyes seemed to marginally widen at his appearance, but she gave a small grin. Fushimi felt a little peeved that Anna wasn't surprised that he was there. It was like she was expecting him to save her.

"Get away from her," Fushimi gritted out. Damn, he thought sourly. Where was that fatty, Kamamoto? He should be taking care of this, not him. Still, he leveled the man a disgusted look, a glint of murder emphasizing his rage.

Oblivious to Fushimi's need to maim, the man handling Anna merely smirked and held her closer.

"Or what?" The man leered, and Fushimi saw a flash of red blind his vision when he saw that the man's hands were leaving behind a few marks. Bruises. "Besides, this young lady wants to go with me. Isn't that right, my sweet?" The perpetrator flashed a pearly white smile, quite the opposite of his ruddy complexion and grubby fingers. The man hastily pulled the preteen flush against his side, a look of ecstasy decorating his features.

Unimpressed by the show, the Scepter 4 officer brandished his knife, lit it with red hot flames, and then he flung the dagger at the man's feet. Scarcely a second had passed before the man ran away from the sudden searing heat. The sound of his screams alerted a few people, but most just passed by undeterred.

Fushimi resisted the urge to spit at the man's retreating back. Picking up his fallen knife would have to do. As he stepped past the young girl and knelt to retrieve his weapon, Anna took hold of his jacket, urging him to look at her.

"I saved you. What do you want from me now?" Fushimi growled. Even though he felt like shrugging her off and just leaving her behind (because seriously, she should know better than to wander the streets of Shizume without one of those Red idiots looking after her). Besides, she was the new Red King. What was she doing, leaving herself open like that?

Her pale pink lips quirked into a small smile. It irked Fushimi a little that he wasn't able to anger the Strain like he did for a certain person. (Perhaps, a small voice in his head supplied, he didn't truly mean any malice against anyone).

"Thank you, Saruhiko."

"Good. Now let go so I can do something else."

Still, she clung onto his jacket, and Fushimi began to feel a slight burn in his legs by squatting down for so long. Unamused, Fushimi tried to flex or shift around a little, but it did nothing to relieve the pain. Scowling, Fushimi looked at Anna, but found himself backtracking when he saw that she looked half amused and slightly concerned for his welfare. The Blue clansman hoped that Anna would feel sympathetic for him, but just his luck, she smiled and he knew that he was doomed.

"Saruhiko's lonely. Let's get ice cream."

The nerve!

"Huh?" The picture of pure incredulity plastered his expression. He was so startled by her blunt statement that he abruptly stood up and scowled at the straitlaced Strain. "No way. I have work to do."

"You're in civilian clothing."

"Undercover mission."

"Liar."

"You don't know that."

"I know you."

Fushimi was about to retort with a "no, you don't know me," but in reality, she was intuitive and he actually did have nothing better to do. He sighed.

He knew when he was beat.

The super-powered humans managed to find a local ice cream parlor not too far from where Fushimi just spotted the albino. Their pace was hurried and hasty. Briskly, Fushimi strode with a purpose; he did not want to be found with Anna clutching his sweater with a featherlike grip. On the other hand, Anna had to keep up by alternating from a slight run to a brisk walk. Stubborn and strong-willed, she refused to admit that Fushimi was too fast. However, she felt a certain pride that she managed to get Fushimi to dine with her.

It wasn't until they reached the shop that Fushimi finally stopped and glanced towards Anna. Instantly, he felt guilt and shame pierce his core as he saw a slight sheen of sweat coat her forehead and small huffs of shallow breath break the silence. How could he be so stupid? Her dress obviously weighed her down, the bright sun made the environment brighter and warmer, and his quickened pace would have done nothing but exacerbate her fatigue.

Out of courtesy, he let her catch her breath before they entered the shop. Despite his borderline harsh actions towards her, Anna knew that he was trying to be polite and that he was socially inept at times. She smiled at his efforts before she regally entered the parlor.

Once inside, they walked to the elderly man who walked behind the counter. He had a kind smile and a round belly. Apathetically, Fushimi ordered a glass of water while Anna ordered a monstrous confection that had sprinkles and syrup heaped in small piles over the dish. For a second, Fushimi felt a slight pang for his wallet before he paid the cashier. This was just her way of getting back at him, he was sure.

After the exchange of money and ice cream, the two of them traveled to a secluded corner of the shop. Partly because Fushimi didn't want any trouble and partly because he didn't want anyone seeing him treat Anna. Delicately, Anna slowly made a small indentation in the mountain before taking an experimental taste. Opposite her, Fushimi stared down at his water like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Try."

"Hmm?"

Fushimi looked up from his water to see Anna wave her spoon at him. She mostly kept her face blank, but there was something warm in her unflinching gaze. Reluctantly, he turned away from her soft look to stare at his glass of water again.

"No, thanks," he curtly replied. He stirred his water with a straw before gazing at her again. "Aren't you going to tell me why that man tried to take you?"

"He said he needed me for his collection."

"Ah, so he's not part of the clans, huh? Tch, stupid lolicon." The brunet paused for a second before leveling a disapproving glare at her. "Where was Kamamoto? Or Kusanagi?"

Or even better, he wanted to shout, don't you own a PDA? Or couldn't you have used your powers to save yourself?

Anna nibbled at her spoon, a smear of ice cream coating the edge of her lips. Nonchalance and relaxation radiated off her being as if she was lounging on a lazy beach. If it were anyone else, Fushimi would have ignored the issue and stayed silent, but he was still feeling the leftover remnants of indignation. His mind seethed because out of all the people in the city, he had to be the one to save her.

Did the universe hate him that much?

"Saruhiko was concerned."

"And you're a bratty kid with nothing better to do than wander around the city and attract trouble." Fushimi clicked his tongue again when Anna just took her spoon, made another small indentation into the cream and placed it in her mouth. The small noise of approval did nothing to improve Fushimi's rapidly internalizing ire. "I was not worried," Fushimi grumbled bitterly. It rankled him that he was not able to get under the skin of the Red King.

Anna shrugged before pointing at her ice cream again.

"Try."

He turned away from her face.

"Today was my day off. I could have left you," he muttered bluntly. "After all, you are the powerful Red King. You have no need for a clansman of _any_ color to save you." He didn't know why he said that. Maybe he was just feeling the stress of the day's events finally catching up to him, or maybe he just wants to get her to feel something other than contentment. For crying out loud, he was a traitor to her clan and he was practically insulting her for doing nothing! He was ruining the image of the Red King, and by extension, the previous Red King.

The man Anna looked up to as her father figure.

Whatever the reason, Anna didn't rise to the bait.

(Or maybe…Saruhiko chose to ignore how her eyes had hardened to steel and then had softened back into a look of understanding. Despite his efforts to think that Anna didn't understand him and that she was nothing more than a kid with too much power… she was actually something more than just that. Despite his best efforts, she was looking right through him. And for the most part, Saruhiko didn't mind).

"I may be the Red King," she easily stated, "but my solution to problems do not consist of burning the problem to ashes." She looked over the milky reflection of her used spoon. Her placid expression seared Fushimi's heart, hotter than any of her predecessor's flames could have managed. Guilt ate at him, and he finally realized that she was nothing like Suoh Mikoto.

Was she truly the Red King?

She was regal. She was beauty. She was terrible. She was wonderful.

Kushina Anna was a King, the Red King, and Fushimi was in awe.

Was this the power of the Kings?

He would have been back to staring at his glass if it wasn't for a small hand alighting softly on top of his larger one. Her hand was small and easily breakable, but she held an iron will. Warmth traveled up and down his body like a security blanket. Gently, her aura nuzzled him and against his better judgment, the young man relaxed and settled into her warmth.

Definitely not as flashy or searing or like Mikoto's.

She turned his hand over so that his palm face upright, and with gentleness, she placed her spoon into his hand. Anna then pushed the bowl of rapidly melting ice cream towards him. For a second, Fushimi looked like he was about to have an aneurysm because did he have to do this? But Anna raised an eyebrow and Fushimi knew that the matter was already over before he could say anything.

That didn't stop him from retorting.

"It'll be too sweet," he growled, but he took a bite of the dripping confection. Despite his cutting words, his eyes widened at its flavor before he cautiously took another bite. And then another.

Meanwhile, Anna gently smiled at Fushimi's barely concealed contentment before she let loose a small yawn.

"Hm? You want to—"

Fushimi found himself stuttering to a halt when Anna walked out of the booth and plopped right next to him. Her head leaned against his arm and she slowly hummed herself to sleep. Fushimi sighed in irritation, but he adjusted his arm so that her head rested slightly against his chest and his arm kept her warm and protected. After all, he didn't want her to have any cricks in the neck when she finally woke up.

The ice cream continued to melt, but Fushimi found that it tasted better.


End file.
